Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety, Depression,
OCD and Other Disorders

What is Behavioral Therapy?

Behavioral Therapy is an umbrella term for different type of therapies that treat mental health disorders. This form of therapy seeks to identify and help change potentially self-destructive or unhealthy behaviors. It functions on the idea that all behaviors are learned and those unhealthy behaviors can be changed. The focus of this treatment is often on current problems and how to change them.

Who can benefit from behavioral therapy?

Behavioral therapy can benefit people with a wide range of disorders. People most commonly seek behavioral therapy to treat:

Depression

Anxiety

Panic Disorders

Anger Issues

It can also help treat conditions and disorders such as:

Eating Disorders

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Bipolar Disorder

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Phobias, including social phobias

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Self-harm

Substance Abuse

Types of Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is extremely popular. It combines behavioral therapy with cognitive therapy. Treatment is centered around how someone’s thoughts and beliefs influence their actions and moods. It often focuses on a person’s current problems and how to solve them. The long-term goal is to change a person’s thinking and behavioral patterns to healthier ones.

System Desensitization

System Desensitization

System Desensitization relies heavily on classical conditioning. It’s often used to treat phobias. People are taught to replace a fear response to a phobia with relaxation responses. A person is first taught relaxation and breathing techniques. Once mastered, the therapist will slowly expose them to their fear in heightened doses while they practice these techniques.

Aversion Therapy

Aversion Therapy

Aversion Therapy is often used to treat problems such as substance abuse and alcoholism. It works by teaching people to associate a stimulus that’s desirable but unhealthy with an extremely unpleasant stimulus. The unpleasant stimulus may be something that causes discomfort.

Is Behavioral Therapy effective?

Behavioral Therapy has successfully been used to treat a large number of conditions. It’s considered to be extremely effective. About 75 percent of people who enter Cognitive Behavioral Therapy experience some benefits from treatment.

Types of Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is extremely popular. It combines behavioral therapy with cognitive therapy. Treatment is centered around how someone’s thoughts and beliefs influence their actions and moods. It often focuses on a person’s current problems and how to solve them. The long-term goal is to change a person’s thinking and behavioral patterns to healthier ones.

System Desensitization – System Desensitization relies heavily on classical conditioning. It’s often used to treat phobias. People are taught to replace a fear response to a phobia with relaxation responses. A person is first taught relaxation and breathing techniques. Once mastered, the therapist will slowly expose them to their fear in heightened doses while they practice these techniques.

Aversion Therapy – Aversion Therapy is often used to treat problems such as substance abuse and alcoholism. It works by teaching people to associate a stimulus that’s desirable but unhealthy with an extremely unpleasant stimulus. The unpleasant stimulus may be something that causes discomfort.

Is Behavioral Therapy effective?

Behavioral Therapy has successfully been used to treat a large number of conditions. It’s considered to be extremely effective. About 75 percent of people who enter Cognitive Behavioral Therapy experience some benefits from treatment.